


A Small Surprise

by randomwriter57



Series: Appreciate Ai Week 2016 [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Birthday, Fluff, Food, Gen, happy birthday ai!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 17:43:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5635990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomwriter57/pseuds/randomwriter57
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nitori Aiichiro doesn't think his birthday is worth all that much of a fuss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Small Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Nitori Aiichiro!!  
> I haven't written much for Ai before, so it's nice to have this chance! I'm looking forward to seeing what everything makes this week. Also, what are titles.  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Written for [Appreciate Ai Week](http://appreciateai.tumblr.com), Day One: Birthday.

Nitori Aiichiro didn’t pay much attention to his birthday anymore. In the first place, it was easy to miss. Most people would find it unfortunate, being born in the haze of days between New Year’s celebrations and back-to-school commiserations. Everyone was only just beginning to warm up to the new year, after all. For most people, these days were a chance to prepare for the year ahead. Even Aiichiro agreed that after the rush of celebrations at the end of the previous year, planning a third was more troublesome than it was worth. In short, Aiichiro didn't want to cause a fuss.

That didn’t stop his parents from taking him out to dinner, of course, but that was natural. His parents always felt that his birthday was a special occasion, even if it felt like just another day for Aiichiro. Perhaps it was because he was seventeen now, but his birthday was starting to become less of a milestone for him now. He appreciated his parents celebrating for him, and he was thankful to have the chance to experience another birthday passing, but that didn’t stop the day from feeling like just another cross on the calendar.

This year in particular, he didn’t want a fuss. The end of year tests would begin in less than a month now, and even if he wasn’t yet preparing for university entrance exams like Rin and Sousuke, it was still essential for him to pass his exams. Trying to celebrate his birthday in this situation would only cause more stress for everyone.

Except that when he returned to the Samezuka dorms a few days after his birthday, he had no hopes of studying. As soon as he reached his room, he didn't have time to look for his key before the door suddenly opened.

“Ai-senpai!” Momo said, holding the door open with a grin. "Welcome back!"

Aiichiro took a step back, almost losing his grip on his suitcase. Momo didn’t seem deterred by Aiichiro’s lack of enthusiasm and continued to speak regardless.

“You’ll never guess what happened over winter break, I found a really cool stag beetle-”

“It’s good to see you too,” Aiichiro said quietly, ignoring Momo’s spiel. “Can I come inside, please? My legs are killing me.”

Even though he was being a little rude towards Momo, it wasn’t as though he disliked him. In fact, he was beginning to feel like Momo was actually a good friend. It didn’t stop him from being quite overwhelming, of course.

“Ah, sorry,” Momo said, moving back and continuing his story without any hesitation.

Aiichiro payed little attention as he laid his suitcase on the bottom bunk and sat beside it. As he sunk into the mattress, he thanked all the gods above for the chance to rest his legs.

“Oh, by the way,” Momo interrupted his own story, “we’re going out with Rin-senpai and Sousuke-senpai tonight!”

The relief turned into cold dread. All he’d wanted to do was relax for a while before settling down to study for the evening, yet he was being denied of even that small wish. Not that he didn’t want to see his senpais again, but he’d never get his studying done if he had to spend his free time doing unnecessary things.

Momo must have seen the dread on his face. “Don’t worry, it’s only for a little while! You have to come, Ai-senpai.”

“It can’t be that important,” Aiichiro said.

“It is! You have to be there. It won’t be the same without you, Ai-senpai!”

The look of resolve on Momo’s face could no longer be ignored, and Aiichiro felt his walls break down a little. Perhaps he could spare a couple of hours of studying time. After all, he had weeks until his exams. He could afford one night of no studying.

“Okay, fine,” he said finally.

He couldn’t bring himself to regret his decision, not upon seeing how happy it made Momo to know he’d go out with them tonight. If it made his friends happy, then it couldn’t hurt to have one night out.

 

* * *

 

 

Of course, when Aiichiro heard ‘going out’, he imagined going to a nearby fast-food restaurant or a karaoke bar. When the four of them ended up at a nearby restaurant, however, he became worried. Restaurants tended to be out of the price range of the average student. He patted his wallet, hoping he had enough cash to cover his meal. He should have brought more - would have, if he knew where they were going, but his friends refused to tell him. There was no use worrying about it now, though. Still, he made sure to pick one of the lower priced meals, just in case.

“I’ve heard the _tonkatsu_ here’s good,” Rin said, a finger pointing at the menu.

“Mmn,” Sousuke said, looking down to the indicated meal. “Sounds good. You’ll be getting _gyu_ , right?”

Rin grinned, his teeth glinting. They looked sharp enough to cut through steak like butter. “Of course.”

“The curries look so good, but so do the _donburi_ …” Momo said, frowning at his menu. He looked up towards Aiichiro. “What are you getting, Ai-senpai?”

“ _Yasai_ curry, I think.” It was the cheapest item on the menu, and it didn’t look too bad, either. It wasn’t what he would usually choose, but change was a good thing, right?

Rin furrowed his eyebrows from across the table. “You’re not getting _tempura_?”

“I didn’t feel like eating _tempura_ tonight,” Aiichiro lied, though he had the feeling Rin could tell immediately. _Tempura_ was his favourite food, after all.

Still, Rin didn’t say anything, merely turning back to his menu. Aiichiro almost sighed in relief before he realised that doing so would give him away.

After they placed their orders, the conversation at the table became much more lively. Momo took up a few minutes recounting the tale of the stag beetle which Aiichiro had ignored earlier, then spent the next few trying to get Rin to tell him about Gou. A few times, Aiichiro felt a set of eyes on him, and once he looked up to see Sousuke looking at him, face masked by his usual stoic expression. Before Aiichiro could say anything, Sousuke looked away. He tried not to think too much about it.

This continued throughout their meal until Sousuke asked the waiter for the bill. Aiichiro pulled out his wallet and searched through his notes, trying to figure out how much his part of the meal cost. Just as he figured it out (over 2000 yen - he didn’t expect it to be so expensive), his thoughts were interrupted by Rin’s voice.

“Ai.”

He looked up, meeting a pair of concerned red eyes. “Yes?”

“Don’t worry about paying.”

Aiichiro’s first thought was that they were going to leave without paying, and he almost voiced his horror at the idea before he realised that his friends had already payed the bill. “O-oh, sorry, I didn’t realise you’d payed already. Who do I owe?”

“You don’t owe any of us,” Sousuke said.

“It’s a little late,” Rin said, “but…”

Then, in unison, his three friends said, “Happy birthday.”

It took him a moment to process the fact that he’d spent the entire meal without realising that his friends were doing this to celebrate his birthday. Now it made sense that they’d picked a different restaurant from usual, and that they had payed for his meal. It didn’t stop guilt from creeping through his mind, but he tried to put it aside in favour of gratitude. After all, his friends had just treated him to a surprise birthday meal. This was no time to be ungrateful.

“You didn’t have to do anything,” Aiichiro said, closing his wallet.

“Of course we did,” Momo said. “We couldn’t miss your birthday, Ai-senpai!”

“Even if we are a few days late,” Rin pointed out.

“We knew you didn’t want a fuss or anything. Sorry if this was excessive,” Sousuke said, wearing a small smile.

“No, no, I really appreciate it!” Aiichiro said, putting up his hands in surrender. He lowered them again and smiled sheepishly. “Thank you, everyone.”

Aiichiro still felt like his birthday wasn’t much of a special event anymore. He still didn’t feel like making a huge fuss over it was necessary. But seeing the smiles on his friends’ faces and spending an evening in their company without having to worry about the stress of exams made him happier and more relaxed than he’d felt in a while. Perhaps it was because he could be with his friends at this time that he felt so relaxed. Even if his birthday wasn't as special anymore, as long as he could have good memories like this, surely that was a cause for celebration.

**Author's Note:**

> Food notes:  
>  _Tonkatsu_ \- Breaded, fried pork cutlet. In canon, this is Sousuke's favourite food.  
>  _Gyu_ \- Apparently, barbequed steak. In canon, one of Rin's favourite food is meat.  
>  _Donburi_ \- Meat, fish or vegetables simmered together and served over rice.  
>  _Yasai curry_ \- Vegetable katsu curry.  
>  _Tempura_ \- Seafood or vegetables which have been battered or deep-fried. I couldn't find out what Ai's favourite food is in canon, so bear with me on this one.
> 
>  
> 
> Follow me at [randomactuallywrites-57](http://randomactuallywrites-57.tumblr.com) on tumblr | [@randomwriter57](http://twitter.com/randomwriter57) on twitter!


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